Toyota Motor Sales USA faces one of the largest automobile recalls ever as federal officials prepare to seek a court order in Washington on Monday to force the nation's best-selling foreign car maker to replace or repair emissions-control computers on 2.2 million vehicles. The Torrance-based subsidiary of Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. says it will fight the recall. If the company were forced to replace the $250 computers, the cost could hit $550 million.

After months of teasing, Nissan Motor Co. said Wednesday that it will bring its famed Z sports car back to the U.S. market within three years, a move aimed at revitalizing its flagging fortunes and product portfolio. "We will build it," declared Minoru Nakamura, president and chief executive of Gardena-based Nissan North America, at a news conference at the New York International Auto Show. The Z car holds a special mystique for Nissan.

As expected, Renault of France agreed today to buy a controlling stake in debt-burdened Nissan Motor Co., Japan's No. 2 auto maker. In a statement, the companies announced that Renault will invest $5.1 billion by taking a 36.8% equity stake in Nissan Motor and a 22.5% equity stake in Nissan Diesel, the Japanese firm's truck affiliate. Under Japanese law, Renault's more than one-third stake in Nissan Motor will give it veto power over company decisions.

Renault of France offered Tuesday to buy a controlling 35% share of troubled Nissan Motor Co., a deal that would give Europe its first beachhead to Japan's auto-manufacturing industry. Although details are still being negotiated, the linkup would in theory enable Nissan, No. 7 worldwide in vehicle production, and No. 11 Renault to compete more effectively against bigger players in the rapidly consolidating global auto industry.

Thirteen years ago, David Halberstam's "The Reckoning" explored the changing industrial fortunes of Japan and the United States through the rise of Nissan Motor Co. and the decline of Ford Motor Co. The book portrayed Nissan as a determined, customer-driven company that made U.S. inroads with high-quality, sporty cars. In contrast, Ford was depicted as a faltering, risk-averse concern run by accountants absorbed with profit and stock value rather than emotion-stirring vehicles.

DaimlerChrysler's bid to acquire a stake in Nissan Motor Co. failed to produce an agreement Friday despite top-level executive meetings this week, but both companies left the hood and side doors open for further progress. DaimlerChrysler Co-Chairmen Robert J. Eaton and Juergen E. Schrempp held discussions with Nissan President Yoshikazu Hanawa in Tokyo that the companies characterized as "constructive" regarding both the diesel truck and passenger vehicle arms of Japan's No. 2 auto maker.

Toyota Motor Corp. announced Tuesday that it will start exporting its fuel-efficient hybrid-power Prius sedan to North America and Europe in the fall of 2000. More than 7,700 of the four-door compacts have been sold in Japan since their domestic launch in December. Jeremy Barnes, spokesman for Toyota Motor Sales USA in Torrance, said it is "a safe bet" that U.S. marketing efforts will concentrate on California and New York. The Prius sells in Japan for about $15,000.

Japan appealed to the World Trade Organization after Canada refused to lower tariffs on motor vehicles imported from most countries other than the U.S. Last month, Canadian Industry Minister John Manley said the government won't drop tariffs below the 6.1% level scheduled to take effect in January without a new round of world trade talks. Japanese auto makers such as Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp.

Honda Motor Co. on Monday launched a natural gas-powered Civic sedan in Japan that is made in America and virtually pollution-free. Although the car may be the epitome of political correctness for a Japanese auto maker, there is a catch: Honda expects to sell only about 100 of the cars in Japan a year, a drop in the bucket compared with the 800,000 or so gasoline-engine cars it sells each year in its home market. The natural gas Civic GX, already launched in April in the U.S.

Car sales in Japan rose in May for the first time in 14 months, suggesting that the market may have bottomed out after last year's sales tax increase slammed the brakes on consumer buying. Although overall vehicle sales continued a steady decline in May, falling 8% from year-ago levels to 294,211 units, passenger cars eked out a 0.1% gain to 210,813, according to the Japan Automobile Dealers' Assn. Among the signs of a belated spring thaw in Japan's car market was growth at Nissan Motor Co.